The Gargoyle Hills

[RobJN]

As I see it, the Hermit originally (before he became that), was obsessed with creating sculptures of beauty. He ended up creating a statue so beautiful that he fell in love with it. Surprisingly the statue came to life. So far, this is all as per the Pygmalion legend.

Then however, this legendary statue of beauty abandons its creator, depriving him of his love ever after happy ending. The man looses his mind, ending up mindlessly creating countless more figurines, but these are all hideously ugly. They too come to life and become Gargoyles.

Perhaps there could be some way to cure the Hermit of his madness? Returning the Pygmalion to him might work, but I am not sure she would be interested in that. Perhaps he would settle for some lesser beauty, like a Stone Dryad?

Or could the Stone Dryads be something he created as proto-types for the Pygmalion? Perhaps they did not come alive untill she did. If you want them to be enemies of his, then perhaps they are jealous of his affection for Her only, and seek to destroy him? This could create some tension within the dungeon, that adventurers could exploit...

What if the Hermit had a personality split? In his "desirous" state of mind, he carves Stone Dryads, and when he is in his "rejected" state of mind, his loss and anguish cause him to carve the hideous gargoyles?